In recent years, computers have proliferated in all parts of worldwide society, including but not limited to, banking, financial services, business, education, and various governmental entities. For instance and without limitation, these computer systems allow individuals to consummate financial transactions, to exchange confidential scientific and/or medical data, and to exchange highly proprietary business planning data. Hence, these computer systems require and/or allow very sensitive and confidential data to be stored and transmitted over great geographic distances. Computer systems have also been integrated with the command and control of much of the critical infrastructure of the world including power production and distribution, gas and oil production and distribution, transportation, communications, and medical as well as others. Proper and secure functioning of computer systems is critical for the functioning of practically every system today.
Moreover, the rise of multinational communications networks, such as the publicly available Internet communications system, has truly made the world a smaller place by allowing these computers, separated by great geographic distances, to very easily communicate and exchange data. In essence, these worldwide communications channels/networks; sometimes collectively referred to as “the Information Superhighway” have electronically connected the peoples of the world—both the good and the very bad.
That is, while these computer systems have increased efficiency and greatly changed the manner in which we work and interact, they have been especially prone to unauthorized “break-ins”, viral destruction, and/or unauthorized data modifications. Accordingly, the rather sensitive and confidential data which is stored and used within these computer systems and transmitted between these computer systems has been the target of attack by people known as “hackers”, by high level and very sophisticated espionage and industrial spies, and by terrorists seeking high profile methods of causing destruction and fear. Computer access security and data transmission security has recently come to the forefront of importance and represents one of the great needs of our times.
Many attempts have been made to create and utilize various techniques to “ensure” that only authorized users are allowed to gain access to these respective computer systems. These prior techniques, while somewhat effective, suffer from various drawbacks.
For example, one such prior computer system security technique comprises the use of predetermined “passwords”. That is, according to this security technique, each computer system has a list of authorized passwords which must be communicated to it before access is given or allowed. In theory, one or more “trusted” system administrators distribute these “secret” passwords to a group of authorized users of a computer system. The “secret” nature of the passwords, in theory, prevents unauthorized users from accessing the computer system (since presumably these unauthorized users do not have the correct passwords). This technique is not very effective since oftentimes those authorized individuals mistakenly and unwittingly expose their password to an unauthorized user. Moreover, this technique of data security may be easily “broken” by a “hacker's” deliberate and concentrated attempt at automatically inputting, to the targeted computer, hundreds and perhaps thousands of passwords until an authorized password is created.
In addition to the prior password technique other, more sophisticated access techniques are known and used. For example, there are known techniques which require the possession of a physical object or feature, such as “access cards” which are “read” by a card reading device and biometric authentication techniques (e.g. requiring the initial input of such authorized user physical characteristics as fingerprints and eye patterns and the later comparison of these input patterns to those of a “would-be” user). Both of these prior techniques are relatively complicated, are relatively costly, and are prone to error, such as and without limitation, mistaken unauthorized entry due to their complexity. These techniques are also prone to unauthorized entry by use of counterfeit and/or stolen cards, objects, and fingerprint readers. Other prior data security techniques, such as encryption, attempt to prevent unauthorized use of transmitted data or unauthorized access to a computer system by modifying and/or changing the transmitted data in a certain manner, and/or requiring the transmission and receipt of modified data before access is granted. While somewhat effective, these prior encryption techniques are relatively costly and complicated and require one or more known “encryption keys” which are in constant exchange between users and which are themselves susceptible to theft and/or inadvertent disclosure.
There therefore exists a significant possibility that an individual's credentials for authentication or authorization can be compromised. In addition, there also exists the possibility of an authorized individual becoming compromised. Having an authorized individual become compromised is one of the most difficult security concerns to protect against.
The concept of separation of duties as a protection against a compromised party in a position of authority is well established in many applications. The key concept is that one person alone cannot complete a critical process. For example, in accounting, the same individual does not keep the books and audit them. Similarly, two signatures are often required on a check above a pre-determined limit. In banks, two keys are usually needed to open a safe deposit box. In the same vein, the same person who performs change management of a network should not be the one who audits the logs of what has happened in the network. Separation of duties should be a key part of a security policy.
Separation of duties has also become a key component of workflow design. Under this concept, no one person should have the ability or permission to complete all the tasks necessary for a critical process that could compromise the security of the company. If one party submits a network administration order, another person should have to approve the order. The same party that initiates a Change Management Request (CMR) should not approve the CMR.
Most of the current research on the use of separation of duties in access control systems is focused on ensuring that authorizations for tasks are managed to provide for separation of duties. When separation of duties is utilized in the workflow environment, some amount of delay is generally acceptable between tasks.
However, there is a need to be able to protect particular data or an individual task from a compromised authorized individual. It is also necessary to be able to provide this protection with no or minimal disruption to the abilities of the authorized individuals to perform the tasks they need to perform for which they need access to the information or system. This requires a solution that is non-disruptive to the tasks that need to be completed, as automated as possible, and that can occur in near real time.
There is therefore a need to provide a technique to substantially prevent the ability of a single authorized individual to access a computer system or data which overcomes the various drawbacks of these aforedescribed prior techniques. There is also a need to provide a technique for this protection in which authorization can take place in near real time.